Chevron's Richmond refinery, the largest refinery in California, is under a Level 3 Hazardous Material extreme immediate warning with local authorities advising local citizens to "to shelter in place, go inside, close all windows and doors, turn off all heaters, air conditioners and fans. If not using the fireplace, close fireplace dampers and vents, and cover cracks around doors and windows with tape or damped towels." As KTVU2 comments, it appears massive and out of control currently. Live KRON4 stream embedded.

*2 DISTINCT PLUMES OF SMOKES OBSERVED EMITTING FROM CVX REFINERY
*CHEVRON SPOKESWOMAN SAYS NOT SURE WHAT CAUSE OF FIRE IS :CVX US
*CHEVRON RICHMOND REFINERY HAS EVACUATION ON EMISSIONS: FILING

Explosion happened at 6:15PM this evening (8/6/2012), one minor injury (minor burn to the wrist), according to the Chevron spokeswoman Melissa Richie. No information available as to what caused the explosion.

"Shelter in place" issued by the county (Contra Costa), but Chevron is not aware of the details yet.

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According to MercuryNews.com (http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_21251471/large-fire-at-chevron-refinery-richmond-affecting-air)

"...Fasano said that six inspectors from the Bay Area Air Quality District were currently monitoring the air in Richmond and surrounding communities, with results expected Tuesday."

Also:

"The Chevron oil refinery in Richmond was the single largest California [carbon dioxide] emitter in 2010, emitting 4.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. The Shell refinery in Martinez was second, with 4.4 million metric tons."

I looked around for news as well since I have friends living in Northern California and was surprised to find nothing on the big media channels. Are 160000 people being instructed to "shelter in place" (stay indoors and do whatever it takes to not let air come in from the outside) and a couple 100 or so in ERs of no relevance to anyone? Granted, bigger tragedies are happening elsewhere, but are we really that desensitized already?*mscharisma*

About my coverage of Japan Earthquake of March 11

I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations.

About This Site

Well, this was, until March 11, 2011. Now it is taken over by the events in Japan, first earthquake and tsunami but quickly by the nuke reactor accident. It continues to be a one-person (me) blog, and I haven't even managed to update the sidebars after 5 months... Thanks for coming, spread the word.------------------This is an aggregator site of blogs coming out of SKF (double-short financials ETF) message board at Yahoo.

Along with commentary on day's financial news, it also provides links to the sites with financial and economic news, market data, stock technical analysis, and other relevant information that could potentially affect the financial markets and beyond.

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